JH Underground – news, sports and music blog from Jackson Hole, Wyoming news, sports and music blog from Jackson Hole, Wyoming

The spring-like weather in recent days has athletes already looking forward to the 37th annual Pole Pedal Paddle race on March 31.

Snake River Brewing Co. has stepped forward to put more fun into the fun class. The brewery is offering a $250 party at the pub to the winning fun class team, the costumed group judged to be having the most fun at the event. Second place gets a 15-gallon keg, and third place a 5-gallon barrel.

The Jackson Hole Ski Club also has lowered the entry fee for fun class to $80 per team. Looking to draw more p-p-participants from out of town, the club is offering a cash purse of $3,500, including $500 to the men’s and women’s racing class winners (individuals and teams).

Register before March 27 to avoid paying a $15 late fee, either online or at the ski club office in Snow King Center.

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Posted under Business, Entertainment, Sports

Tags: beer, jhmr, parties, ppp, restaurants, ski racing

Continuing our series on alternatives for a dry winter, now that the lakes are snowed over, another option has emerged for keeping active: skate skiing.

This is shaping up to be a season when a pair of skinny skis will come in handy. And one of the best venues for nordic exploring is Grand Teton National Park.

The inner Teton Park Road is groomed periodically for cross-country skiing, classic and skate. While investigating whether conditions were smooth last weekend, I came across a helpful phone number that has managed to elude me over the years: 307-739-3399, the visitor center desk. In this age of annoying automated menus, it’s a relief to be able to speak with someone.

Although the road was supposed to be groomed, the park staffer warned that it was pretty rough, based on his experience. That’s to be expected; after all, the park is a wild place and not a nordic center.

And thanks to the rain that fell before New Year’s, a hard crust has formed over much of the snow in the valley, so skate skiers can cruise wherever they like — a phenomenon that usually doesn’t happen till spring.

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Posted under Food, Sports, Weather

Tags: beer, grand teton national park, skiing, wolves

Five years ago this month, I began wading into the world of css and html, WordPress and DreamHost, cobbling together thoughts into an online journal. After several all-night sessions of trial and error, with much guidance and encouragement from DG at The Snaz, JH Underground was born.

Some 900 posts, 4,100 comments and 2 million page views later, I am still astonished at the response. To thank readers, celebrate the five-year anniversary and spread some holiday cheer, JH Underground is teaming with Snake River Brewing Co. to host a Beer Summit on Thursday. From 5 to 7 p.m. upstairs at the brew pub, we’ll have pitchers and pizzas and talk about the issues we often debate on these pages.

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Posted under From the Publisher, Holidays, Media, Politics

Tags: barack obama, beer, writing

After all the chatter about whether the most anticipated opening of a burger joint in Jackson would MacPhail, I had to experience the place for myself.

So on a recent evening, following a whitewater run down the Snake, two friends and I convened at MacPhail’s in the old Taco Bell location on Broadway. We arrived just after 9 p.m., so it was a relief to be seated. (One of my pet peeves about Jackson is a lack of eateries serving late, besides the Brew Pub.)

The restaurant has been redone nicely, but the interior is small and a bit loud. Perhaps some funky music would help. We had no problems with service; it had been a busy night, yet we were greeted promptly and all our needs met. Beer was poured in a frosty glass. There were munchies on the table to pass the wait.

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Posted under Business, Food

Tags: beer, flat creek, restaurants

Word has filtered out since last winter, and they have been on the shelves for a few weeks, but Snake River Brewing Co. is hosting a party Wednesday to celebrate its latest innovation: cans.

The pub is canning two of its signature brews: Pako’s IPA and Snake River Pale Ale. The cans are made in a factory in Worland and filled in Jackson. The pub is distributing them to vendors around town by bike.

The party is in conjunction with BikeWire, a bicycle courier network spearheaded by Andy Zimmerman of the pub’s next-door neighbor, Fitzgerald’s Bicycles. The service helps connect users needing or willing to transport goods by bike. Festivities run from 2 to 7 p.m. on the pub’s loading dock.

There were several factors behind the switch to cans, says Tim Harland, the pub’s vice president of sales and marketing.

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Posted under Business, Environment, Food, Wyoming

Tags: barack obama, beer, cycling, recycling, restaurants